Cal State Fullerton right fielder Anthony Hutting thows to second during Saturday's game against UC Irvine. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Anthony Hutting first stepped onto the field at Cal State Fullerton wearing a Titans jersey more than 16 years ago.

From 1997-98, Hutting served as the Titans batboy while his elder cousin, Aaron Rowand, starred in center field at Goodwin Stadium.

But Hutting's baseball pedigree doesn't end with Rowand – an 11-year major league veteran. The 22-year-old outfielder is also cousins with Kansas City Royals ace James Shields, and a brother, Eric, is a freshman catcher at Long Beach State.

For Hutting, playing as a Titan was the ultimate goal.

Now in his final season at CSF, the senior has helped the Titans reach the No. 4 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Poll. He also writes a baseball blog for the CSF athletic website, giving fans an insight of what life is like on and off the field for Titans players.

Q.You served as a bat boy for this program. Is it surreal for you to now be playing for CSF?

A. Really, it has been a dream come true for me. I've been around this program since I was 7 years old. One of my older cousins who played in the big leagues – Aaron Rowand – played here from 1996-98. I was able to be bat boy on two of those teams and just be around the program and the tradition that has been here. And ever since I've been playing baseball, I've been coming to Cal State Fullerton baseball games. Going into high school and through the recruiting process, Cal State Fullerton was always where I wanted to go.

Q.In addition to Rowand, one of your other cousins is Kansas City pitcher James Shields. How influential were they growing up?

A. They've been amazing influences. They're my role models. I had an advantage growing up in playing baseball and being able to watch them kind of go through it first and really see how much work those two guys had to put in, and how hard they worked to get to where they're at. Luckily for me, I took that all in and really got to see exactly how it was done and how to succeed on such a huge stage.

Q.You currently write a blog for the CSF athletics website. How did that come about?

A. The blog is something that's been around Cal State Fullerton baseball for some years. Last year we didn't have it, but before that, some former Titans – Jon Wilhite, Kevin Rath, Jared Clark, Jake Floethe – all those guys did one as part of their internship for communications. I'm a communications major and I'm in my last semester, so I do my internship through the athletic media relations department here, and that's one of the things I got an opportunity to do. It's pretty fun doing it, and I think it's something that brings some insight to what goes on outside the field.

Q.Your younger brother, Eric, plays for Long Beach State. What's the interaction like during the season and when you play each other?

A. We talk all the time and I only wish the best for him in his baseball career, and his career off the field. But when we get between the lines, it's business. I texted him earlier today, telling him good luck, and besides that man, it's still a Fullerton-Long Beach rivalry. You can't take anything away from that.

Q.This senior class has yet to advance to the College World Series. How much motivation has that been for this team?

A. To be honest with you, it has been a motivation for the entire season. (The seniors) haven't been to Omaha. And from the expectations of this program's standards, we have underachieved. It's been a point of notice for our entire team since the fall. This team has expectations and we want to go where this program's expected to go. We try not to look at this as pressure, and it's not. It hasn't been all year. But we're going to go play as hard as we can and see where the chips fall in the end.

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